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Reiryoku (Spiritual Forces)
Reiryoku '(霊力; Japanese for ''spiritual power) is a set of supernatural abilities aligned with the spiritual sensitivity and energy of the user. Spiritual beings and gifted humans have the ability to manipulate spiritual energy, the inherent power of the life-force itself, for various purposes. While all humans posses spiritual power, monks, exorcists, priests and priestesses generally have more knowledge and understanding on how to exercise this power for specific purposes. Most yōkai are especially vulnerable to a human's spiritual power, primarily due to its nature of clashing with their demonic energy. However, some demons (e.g. the Miko fūji and Oni's head) are capable of absorbing spiritual power from monks and priestesses alike to fuel their own power. Daiyōkai, such as Kaguya, are even capable of utilizing this power for themselves, should they absorb it from an individual with great enough spiritual power. Overview Every spiritual being and every human has a certain amount of spiritual energy. If this amount is higher than a certain degree, it grants the person superhuman abilities. Those with such an above-average level of spiritual power are very rare among living humans. It seems to be that the most basic ability that humans with a higher level of spiritual power have is the ability to see ghosts. Another basic ability that beings with higher-than-average levels of spiritual power possess is the ability to sense other spiritual beings without relying on their five basic senses. This is possible because every spiritual being emits a certain amount of his/her own spiritual power in the form of '''reiatsu (霊圧, spiritual pressure), which can be sensed. This ability apparently requires some innate skill, but can be increased with training. Initially, Kaō more proficient in it, even being able to use various high-level techniques to locate or detect particular people, such as his close friends. In general, those with high levels of spiritual energy will often have the highest levels of spiritual pressure as well. A skilled warrior can overcome a person possessing greater spiritual power by possessing greater spiritual pressure. This is achieved by having greater control over their own spiritual energy. Any being with an extremely high spiritual power will not have their spiritual pressure be sensed at all by less powerful beings, without needing to conceal it. Every spiritual being has a unique pattern to his/her emitted spiritual energy. One can recognize the pattern of their friends and acquaintances after some time, being able to sense their presence and their physical and mental state from relatively great distances. Sudden changes in spiritual energy pattern can mean that the person in question is in great stress (i.e. fighting) or has received a grave wound. Different types of spiritual beings have greatly different patterns, the spiritual energy pattern of humans for example is easily distinguishable from that of spirits. The aforementioned emission of spiritual power is a common and natural phenomenon, but a spiritual being can also control the degree of this emission, this usually requires a certain amount of skill and training. By completely blocking his/her spiritual energy "pouring out", one can completely hide his/her presence from other spiritual beings and spiritually aware humans. On the other hand, amplifying this emission is known as a more aggressive type of spiritual pressure, is considered a show of force, a means of intimidation or can even be an attack in itself. It can indeed paralyze opponents and cause direct damage to the surrounding individuals and inanimate objects alike. All spiritual pressure released by individuals eventually returns to them, but spiritual pressure released in explosive bursts also engulfs energy in its surroundings in the process. There are a few possibilities to block spiritual energy. One is the usage of sekkiseki, a special kind of stone that completely blocks spiritual energy from both sides. Another means of blocking spiritual energy is a special garment invented by Wan Shi Tong, which completely hides any emission of spiritual energy coming from the wearer, enabling him/her to escape from somewhere or approach someone while being impossible to notice via sheer sensing of spiritual energy. It is also known that the expenditure of spiritual energy utilizes one's own life-force to varying degrees, and too great or too rapid a depletion of energies may endanger the user's own life even to the point of killing them. Spiritual Power Levels Known Uses *'Onmyōdō' (陰陽道; Japanese for ‘The Way of Yin and Yang’):' There are several mystic spells and enchantments that are derived from spiritual energy. Most of these spells are used as attacks, defensive measures, or to bind others, and their potency is dependent on the extent of spell-caster's spiritual power; onmyōdō spells can be used for practical purposes as well, as seen when Kaō tweaked a spell to light a dark hallway. These spells, depending on their requirements, can be triggered by a ritual action, an incantation, a gesture or any combination of these. Some spells may require the use of paper charms or talismans, and other ingredients for various purposes. Spells require spiritual energy to fuel them and need a continuous source of power to remain in perpetual effect. Therefor, no spell will last forever and will erode with time, as with anything created by living things will die because all living things will eventually die. Skilled casters will often bind a spell to something that can act as a source of power for it to remain in effect for as long as possible **'Bakudō (縛道, Way of Binding):' Supplementary spells which can immobilize an enemy or have an effect besides a direct strike. They may seem subtle, but these spells can give their users a tactical advantage when used properly. These are a broad category of defensive spells which block/repel attacks or freezes enemies in place. This class of spells include barriers seals. ***'Barriers (結界, Kekkai):' Focused spiritual energy formed into a solid form of energy. This energy can take on many shapes or colors as determined by the user. The strength of a barrier is dependent upon the power of the user. Weak barriers are easily breakable, while strong ones can last for centuries. Certain barriers can be placed beforehand and activated later, while others require certain artifacts and time to activate. ***'Seals (封, Fū):' Somewhat similar to barriers, but far more powerful and require far more preparation to create. Seals can only be used by those of sufficient spiritual power, and are meant to hold the most powerful and/or dangerous artifacts or beings. Seals are usually hard to break. **'Hadō (破道, Way of Destruction):' Offensive spells which inflict direct damage to the enemy. Their effectiveness differs depending on the user. It is said the effectiveness of the higher-ranked spells are beyond imagination. **'Kaidō (回道, Turn Way):' These spells do not have known names, numbers, or incantations to cast, and simply heal the target. As the user holds his/her hands above the patient's wounds, his/her palms glow with green spiritual energy to facilitate healing. When one heals with regular healing spells, they perform spiritual pressure restoration first. By doing so, one can attempt to recover the physical body using the patient's restored spiritual pressure and the healer's external spiritual pressure. Therefore, restoring the spiritual pressure when the physical body is in a fully healed state is no trouble at all. **'Sutras: Sutras are written incantations that act as an amulet or talisman of protection. Normally, they are written on paper charms, called o-fuda (御札 or お札), in order to ward against, reveal, bind, or punish otherworldly creatures (i.e. demons or spirits). Sutras can also used to erect physical spiritual barriers. **'Shikigami Conjuration:' Spectral entities created and empowered by the creator's spiritual energies. Shikigami are capable of assuming a variety of different forms, from human to animal, and they act under the will of whoever summoned them. They are normally employed for tasks such as spying, stealing and enemy tracking. The dark priestess Tsubaki sent her spirit puppet to collect drops of Kagome's blood whereas Kikyō's shikigami gathered her items like a branch of ōkatama. These spirit puppets can also be used in far more offensive manners, such as to cause bodily harm or even death. *'Energy Projection/Manipulation:' Spiritual energy itself can be manipulated and controlled for a variety of effects. Users can concentrate spiritual energy in the palms of their hands for offensive purposes or focus their spiritual power into energy shields or screens. The size, strength, and durability of an energy barrier is dependent on the one who erected it; the greater their spiritual power, the more resilient their barrier is. Barriers are protective in nature, and can be as simple as a barrier only protecting one direction or encompassing all sides of an area. Barriers can be used for containment, and some barriers can be used offensively. Barriers can mask spiritual pressure and can make one spiritually and physically invisible. **'Energy Absorption:' Users can siphon life-force (or chi) from the environment or other people, causing varying degrees of shock and physical weakness depending upon the amount they have siphoned. Although an organism's life-force is self-renewing, if a user were to take too much of it from someone, the victim would die. **'Energy Infusion:' Users can channel their spiritual energy into their weapons to empower and energize them (i.e. sacred arrows). This can greatly enhance the recipient object's qualities and efficiency. **'Elemental Enhancemnt:' Spiritual energy is known to strengthen and complete the elements of water, fire, earth, and air. **'Elemental Power Negation:' The ability to negate/cancel the effects of the the elements of water, fire, earth, and air. **'Purification Abilities:' According to Lady Kanade, a human's spiritual power normally clashes with the demonic power of a demon. Thus, if the human's spiritual power is strong enough, they can dispel the infernal energy of a demonic force. Those with great spiritual power, like the priestess Kaō or Kagome, can also resist and purify the effects of demonic miasmas by either consciously or unconsciously sending out pure spiritual power. *'Reikaku' (霊覚, Spiritual Sense): Those with above average spiritual power seem to have an abnormal "sixth sense" that enables them to detect both barriers and demons alike, even when a nefarious being such as them is concealed by magic. Kaō was able to detect a dark spirit's aura even after he had disguised himself as a feudal lord. Some spiritualists can even perceive things that are otherwise invisible to ordinary people (e.g. ghosts, spirits, and divine auras); this is referred to as "the sight." Known Users *Tsubaki † *Kaō Trivia *While all humans have spiritual power, there are certain gifted individuals, like Kaō and Hitomiko, who innately have a greater concentration of spiritual power. The exact source of innate spiritual power is not explicitly known. **Kikyō and her sister Kaede had above average spiritual power, and Miroku's family was known to have monks with great spiritual power, suggesting a genetic link as an explanation for spiritual powers. Kikyō's genetic clone having had some level of spiritual power further reinforces this theory. **However, as both Kikyō's and Kagome's spiritual power extended to the spiritual level, allowing the former to be reincarnated as the latter with the same innate spiritual powers, suggests an obvious accompanying spiritual connection for their unusual powers. *According to Lady Kanade, the spiritual power a human possesses normally clashes with the demonic power of a demon, in half-demons this power merges and produces a unique synergy of these powers. *Certain plants, like the Iris flower, can possess spiritual power and purifying abilities. Category:Fair Snow-White